Re: Black Bear ... NOT for the Faint of Heart!
| August 31, 2009 10:04PM |
Fritz Klinke Wrote:
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> Black Bear is one way, but it is two way up to the
> power house. All these years, I've never done the
> actual Black Bear portion of the road, but the
> road on up into Lewis Basin above the power house
> is the most intense road I have ever driven. There
> is a locked gate below the power house that blocks
> this road for vehicular traffice but we had the
> lock combination while we worked at the Lewis Mill
> for a couple of years. There are switch backs that
> make anything else I've driven look like a piece
> of cake. Ophir and Engineer passes are child's
> play compared to this road. The Idarado Mine
> blocked that road for good reason, and now that
> most of the land above the power house is either
> Forest Service or Town of Telluride watershed
> (Blue Lake), the gate remains locked. The power
> house is superb--fully restored, the generator is
> generating power, and the living quarters are
> fully restored with the owner's family living
> there. The views from the living room are stunning
> to say the least. When I first visited the power
> house in 1967, it was fairly well trashed out and
> the stairway down to the generator was clogged
> with trash, which is good because it kept people
> from getting to the generator and stealing the
> copper. That same generator is what Eric uses now
> for generation. He also owns and operates the
> Ouray hydro plant.
The Lewis mill is one I have been wanting to go see as I understand it still has her stamps in place
-------------------------------------------------------
> Black Bear is one way, but it is two way up to the
> power house. All these years, I've never done the
> actual Black Bear portion of the road, but the
> road on up into Lewis Basin above the power house
> is the most intense road I have ever driven. There
> is a locked gate below the power house that blocks
> this road for vehicular traffice but we had the
> lock combination while we worked at the Lewis Mill
> for a couple of years. There are switch backs that
> make anything else I've driven look like a piece
> of cake. Ophir and Engineer passes are child's
> play compared to this road. The Idarado Mine
> blocked that road for good reason, and now that
> most of the land above the power house is either
> Forest Service or Town of Telluride watershed
> (Blue Lake), the gate remains locked. The power
> house is superb--fully restored, the generator is
> generating power, and the living quarters are
> fully restored with the owner's family living
> there. The views from the living room are stunning
> to say the least. When I first visited the power
> house in 1967, it was fairly well trashed out and
> the stairway down to the generator was clogged
> with trash, which is good because it kept people
> from getting to the generator and stealing the
> copper. That same generator is what Eric uses now
> for generation. He also owns and operates the
> Ouray hydro plant.
The Lewis mill is one I have been wanting to go see as I understand it still has her stamps in place
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488 stops for water at Los Pinos tank on closing day Oct. 1979. Photo courtesy Don Richter
The NGDF was started by Don Richter and is currently operated in his memory by Nathan Holmes and others. Others who have contributed to the upkeep of this board are (in no particular order): Charles McCandless, Everett Lueck, Ted Wilton, Cole Adams, James Bane, John Moellmer, Jon Bentz, Linn Moedinger, lloyd lehrer, Rod Jensen, John Craft, Steven Forney, Herb Kelsey, Bill Ramaley, Russ Sperry (El Russo Loco), Josh McNeal, John West, Jim Armstrong, Bob Bergstrom, Greg Scholl, Blake Forbes Doug van Veelen and Mark Fuller.